One of the primary benefits of vitamin B2 is for the metabolism of histamine. Vitamin B2 is also beneficial for eye health, migraines, energy production, decreasing cardiovascular risk, and boosting antioxidant status. B2 is a water-soluble and heat-stable nutrient used by the body to metabolize fats, proteins, and carbs for energy.
Riboflavin is also is known as vitamin B2 has a yellow pigment that can turn the urine yellow as excess B2 is eliminated in the urine.
Vitamin B2 is found in many foods yet not in high amounts. As a result, vitamin B2 deficiency can be a common deficiency, especially in vegans or vegetarians.
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Some of the highest foods with vitamin B2 include organ meats, animal meats, and milk. Anyone who is a vegan or vegetarian with dairy intolerance will want to ensure that they are getting an adequate intake of vitamin B2 rich foods through plant-based food sources of vitamin B2.
Some common symptoms of Vitamin B2 deficiency include:
-cracks or sores at the corners of the mouth (cheilosis)
-eye redness or sensitivity to light
-burning eyes or dry sandy feeling of the eyes
-fatigue
-nervous tissue damage
-inflammation and redness of the tongue
-sore throat
-redness and swelling of the lining of the mouth
-dry yet moist and oily scaly skin inflammation (seborrheic dermatitis)
-the formation of blood vessels in the clear covering of the eye (vascularization of the eye)
Primary Benefits of Vitamin B2 include:
-decreased cardiovascular risk
-boosts the antioxidant status in the body
-helps to prevent the formation of blood vessels in the eye
-helps to make energy in the body to prevent fatigue
-prevents visual problems, eye fatigue, burning eyes, and cataracts
-used for skin conditions such as dermatitis
-may help prevent headaches and migraines in some individuals
-required for the metabolism of histamine thus B2 may help to reduce symptoms of histamine intolerance.
Vitamin B2 is a critical nutrient that is the co-factor for the MTHFR gene and the recycling of oxidized B12 through the MTRR gene. The MTRR gene is involved in the conversion of homocysteine into methionine.
Methionine goes on to produce the methyl donor SAMe, which is needed for another 200 plus enzymes such as the PEMT gene to produce phosphatidylcholine to prevent fatty liver. The HNMT enzyme requires SAMe to metabolize histamine.
Vitamin B2 is also involved in the recycling of oxidized glutathione back into its reduced form. Glutathione is one of the primary antioxidants produced by the body that is needed to prevent grey hair, reduce inflammation, and convert hydrogen peroxide into water.
Inflammation inhibits methylation, and vitamin B2 helps to reduce inflammation and supports the recycling of homocysteine back into methionine. Elevated levels of homocysteine are associated with increased cardiovascular risk.
Benefits of vitamin B2 for migraines
Vitamin B2 has also been shown to reduce the number of headache days, the attack frequency, and severity of migraines in some individuals. The benefits of taking B2 for headaches is most notable after three months of taking 400 mg of riboflavin a day.
Migraines have been associated with increased levels of homocysteine, which vitamin B2 helps to metabolize.
Impaired mitochondrial oxygen metabolism may also play a role in the pathology of migraine headaches. Since FAD, which is the active form of vitamin B2, is a part of the electron transport chain in the mitochondria for energy production, it has been researched for migraine prevention due to mitochondrial dysfunction.
Benefits of vitamin B2 for energy production and fat metabolism.
Vitamin B2 supplementation has also been shown to improve muscle strength and exercise tolerance as vitamin B2 is involved in the B-oxidation of fatty acids, which is a catabolic process in the mitochondria.
A defect in this process causes fatty acid accumulation in the skeletal muscles leading to lipid storage that is characterized by muscle pain, muscle weakness, and exercise intolerance. These symptoms were shown to improve by eating a low-fat diet with vitamin B2 supplementation.
As vitamin B2 plays an essential role in the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, B2 is needed to boost energy levels and prevent fatigue due to vitamin B2 deficiencies.
Benefits of Riboflavin for histamine intolerance
A riboflavin deficiency can cause symptoms of histamine intolerance, as vitamin B2 is a nutrient less spoken about involved in methylation and the production of SAMe.
SAMe is a methyl donor that is a co-factor for the HNMT enzyme to metabolizes intracellular histamine into N-methylhistamine, which is further broken down by the MAO B gene in which FAD (the active form of B2) is the co-factor.
Vitamin B2 is a nutrient to consider supplementing with if you have symptoms of histamine intolerance and nothing else has worked. You can also increase your dietary intake of vitamin B2 rich foods.
The recommended daily intake for vitamin B2 is 1.3 mg for men and 1.1 mg for women.
While eating foods high in vitamin B2 is the best way to boost your nutritional status of b2, some people will benefit from extra supplementation if they show signs of vitamin B2 deficiency or are vegans.
Foods high in B2 include:
Yeast extract (vegemite)
Organ meats such as beef, chicken, moose, and turkey liver
Dried seaweed
Ground beef
Chicken
Eggs
Milk
Cheese (goat, brie, feta, cheddar)
Salmon
Halibut
Mackerel
Mollusks
Almonds
Broccoli
Asparagus
Spinach
Shitake Mushrooms
Radishes
Peppers
Chives
Soybeans
Eating foods high in B2 is super important to maintain energy levels, antioxidant status, eye health, the metabolism of histamine, optimal methylation, skin health, and much more.
I used Ancestry DNA and Strategene to run my genetic report. When I got my results back and looked at my genetics, vitamin B2 came up as the co-factor for several different genes in which I had genetic SNPs.
Some of the SNPs I have that require vitamin B2 include the MTHFR gene, the MTRR gene involved in methylation, and the MAO B gene involved in the metabolism of histamine.
You can test for all these genes and more through the strategene DNA test kit.
My symptoms of vitamin B2 deficiency
Funny enough, as I write this article, I feel like I am writing this for myself. I used to have symptoms of vitamin B2 deficiency in the past such as:
-extreme burning and tearing of the eyes
-sensitivity to sunlight
-dry eyes
-cracks in the corner of my mouth
-red eyes with vascularization that come and go but seem to be worse after –eating high histamine foods.
These symptoms of vitamin B2 deficiency were worse when I was eating a Vegetarian and dairy-free diet, which makes a lot of sense considering riboflavin is highest in animal products.
Vegetarians need to eat foods high in vitamin B2 to prevent a deficiency in B2, such as shitake mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, almonds, cheese, and eggs.
Inflammation is something that I have always had to some degree due to various reasons but knowing that vitamin B2 is required for boosting antioxidant status to reduce inflammation is a part of the puzzle and a nutrient that is especially important for me.
If you have symptoms of vitamin B2 deficiency or histamine intolerance, be sure to focus on eating vitamin B2 rich foods. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you may need to supplement or focus on vegetarian sources of vitamin B2.
References:
Staying Healthy with Nutrition by Elson M Haas
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470460/
https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC1827807&blobtype=pdf
Did you also suffer from anxiety with your high histamine?
Great question! I don’t have high histamine symptoms anymore like I used to but yes the two are connected and when I have been anxious histamine symptoms occur such as red spots on my chest. Any kind of stress can worsen all types of histamine symptoms.
Great article! This is the same conclusion I have come to after researching HI and the methylation pathways. Did supplementing B2 improve your histamine symptoms or is there anything else that helped?
I didn’t supplement only with B2, but I did include more foods high in B2 in my diet and Optimal multi minus 1. My histamine symptoms were worse when I was vegetarian and eating wheat and dairy, which I am intolerant to, as well as soy sauce and smoked salmon, were some other triggers. At that time, I was unaware of all the information I have today. The activated methylated B vitamins caused itchy skin for me, and I had to stop the active B vitamins and take other forms. I also loved the probiotic histaminx by seeking health and took that. Now I don’t really have histamine issues unless I eat processed salami or smoked foods or soy sauce which is very rare that I do 🙂